Asia - Best way from KIX (osaka) to NRT (Tokyo)

Hi all,

Need some help with getting between KIX and NRT. Since NW doesn't fly between TPE and NRT anymore, I have a situation that has me doing this:

TPE-KIX
NRT - MSP (next day)

So, I need help on how to do this. Any suggestions? Where's a cheap and convienient hotel that would be close to NRT?

Thanks,

Rail is pretty much the easiest way but it's also expensive (cheaper than by flying but not by much). I'd imagine there'll be 3 trains and 3 tickets involved.

Domestic air flights out of NRT are limited. HND has much more. Looks like you can fly ITM (the other Osaka airport) to NRT, or KIX-HND, but not KIX-NRT. There are several hotels in the NRT area. Do a search to see what rates are for your day of travel.

There are many hotels around NRT airport. I recommend Hilton Narita, but it might be expensive. Narita View Hotel is cheaper. Many hotels have their own shuttle bus between hotels and NRT airport, so there is no problem.
Check the rate. :)
http://web.mytrip.net/portal/my/en_h_list.main?f_cd=03&f_dai=japan&f_chu=tiba&f_shou=narita&f_sai=&f_ptn1=kaigai

For NRT, fly by NH or JL from KIX to HND, and take a train(Keikyu) on the underground of HND airport. It is the simple way.

I recommend checking the Hyperedia rail guide (http://grace.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperd01.cgi) to find information about train connections and costs. You'll get different options, information about the transfers you need to make, and how much it will cost.

It's a hassle no matter how you do it. Fastest would probably be JR Haruka ltd. express from KIX to Shin-Osaka, change to Tokaido Shinkansen (Nozomi) to Tokyo Station, change to N'EX to NRT -- and this would be closer to 4 hours on trains not counting transfer/waiting times (not that there will be much, all three run quite frequently). If you're lucky with your timings, however, you can take one of the rare KIX-HND flights and then connect HND-NRT either by direct train (infrequent but fast) or bus (frequent but traffic-jam prone), but this connection will also take you ~2 hours at best.

Personally, I'd go for the three-train option, and spend the night in Osaka, Kyoto or central Tokyo instead of some dingy and overpriced airport hotel. (Some Harukas also go to directly to Kyoto, and you can continue from there to Tokyo by Shinkansen as well.)

I thought there were a very few KIX-NRT flights each day?

I second the suggestion of staying somewhere along the way, if you wanna do deluxe, I'd go for the 4S Maronouchi or Seiyo Ginza near Tokyo station.

For less deluxe, how about that weirdly shaped Sofitel near Ueno station and then take the Keisei line to Narita (which is Y1000 cheaper than the Narita express anyway).

Dick

I thought there were a very few KIX-NRT flights each day?

I second the suggestion of staying somewhere along the way, if you wanna do deluxe, I'd go for the 4S Maronouchi or Seiyo Ginza near Tokyo station.

Dick

I'm considering doing KIX-HND the same day I arrive from TPE, and then spending that evening in Tokyo, then getting to NRT the next day. Is the convienient connections from HND to Tokyo? And then how about from downtown Tokyo to NRT? I looked into JAL's flights KIX-HND, and the price seemed reasonable ($192 + $8 for business). Anybody have experience with JAL's domestic business class? Also, maybe this would be a good time for me to use my Mariott or Hilton points for hotels, any suggestions within those chains?

Thanks a bunch for the help.. this is going to be my first time in Japan (outside of airports)! I'm excited...

I'm considering doing KIX-HND the same day I arrive from TPE, and then spending that evening in Tokyo, then getting to NRT the next day. Is the convienient connections from HND to Tokyo? And then how about from downtown Tokyo to NRT? I looked into JAL's flights KIX-HND, and the price seemed reasonable ($192 + $8 for business). Anybody have experience with JAL's domestic business class? Also, maybe this would be a good time for me to use my Mariott or Hilton points for hotels, any suggestions within those chains?

Thanks a bunch for the help.. this is going to be my first time in Japan (outside of airports)! I'm excited...

From Haneda, you can either take the monorail or Keikyu line to meet the Yamanote line (at slightly different stations), which is a circular JR train line that loops around Tokyo. If you were staying near Tokyo station (where the Narita express train starts), the time from Haneda would be around 40 minutes and cost less than $10.

The Narita Express from Tokyo station runs every 30 minutes during the day, costs about $30 and takes about 1 hour to reach Narita airport.

For approximately $130 you could take the JR train to Shin-Osaka or Kyoto and then the Shinkansen to Tokyo station. Depending on how long you have to wait for the flight, it might actually be faster, downtown to downtown, to take the train (total time about 4.5 hours).

There is plenty of hotel advice, but for starters, we'd need to have some idea of the budget and hotel class you are interested in, as well as what kind of area you'd like to be near.

I don't think there are any Mariott hotels in Tokyo, but I am not really sure. The only Hilton in Tokyo city is at Shinjuku, which is a bit out of the way for a one night stopover under these circumstances.

I don't think there are any Mariott hotels in Tokyo, but I am not really sure. The only Hilton in Tokyo city is at Shinjuku, which is a bit out of the way for a one night stopover under these circumstances.

There are two Marriott hotels in Tokyo. One is Renaissance Ginza Tobu Hotel and the other is Marriott Kinshicho Tobu Hotel. In my opinion, the former is expensive and small and the later is inconvenient for its place.

I'm considering doing KIX-HND the same day I arrive from TPE, and then spending that evening in Tokyo, then getting to NRT the next day. Is the convienient connections from HND to Tokyo? And then how about from downtown Tokyo to NRT? I looked into JAL's flights KIX-HND, and the price seemed reasonable ($192 + $8 for business). Anybody have experience with JAL's domestic business class? Also, maybe this would be a good time for me to use my Mariott or Hilton points for hotels, any suggestions within those chains?

Thanks a bunch for the help.. this is going to be my first time in Japan (outside of airports)! I'm excited...

I think this is your best option. Alternatively, you could go up to Osaka spend the day there and then fly Itami-Narita the following afternoon. Both the domestic and international airports are better connected to the city in Osaka and teh Hilton by Osaka station is decent.

I think this is your best option. Alternatively, you could go up to Osaka spend the day there and then fly Itami-Narita the following afternoon. Both the domestic and international airports are better connected to the city in Osaka and the Hilton by Osaka station is decent.

The Osaka Hilton IS decent but if I had only one day to spend in Japan and decided to spend it in the south, I sure wouldn't stay next to Osaka station. I'd take the train to Kyoto and spend the day in Kyoto, even if it meant paying for a hotel (and then take the Shinkansen and Narita Express to Narita, not a plane).

But my first choice would still be Tokyo, as the original poster proposes. Opinions definitely vary on this!

But my first choice would still be Tokyo, as the original poster proposes. Opinions definitely vary on this!

Well, here's what I ended up doing. Found out that I could book a Skyteam partner from TPE-NRT, instead of TPE-KIX. Cool part is: the NW rep told me that since not many people know about the Skyteam alliance, there's tons of availability. So, I'm flying TPE-Seoul-NRT on Korean Air in Business Class. This gets around the problems of getting between KIX and NRT, and even though it decreases my time in Japan, it increases my time in an Asian business class seating, which makes me happy.

So, I'll have an evening and morning in NRT.. so I'll need to find things to do. The KE flight gets into NRT at 8pm, and then my flight from NRT-MSP leaves in the mid afternoon. I've heard people say Narita is interesting, any suggestions for such a short period? (evening/morning)

Unfortunately, the Narita stopover site (Mike Newman's Narita Stopover Page) is now offline -- instead there is a posted notice by the author that he's removed it in protest of some friend of his who was treated poorly by Japan immigration -- which may well be valid but seems to be overkill.

Narita has a temple to visit, some Japanese stores (Llaox electronics has a branch there), restaurants, and apparently some nightclubs that air crews visit. Overall it's not that special. There are two interesting, and relatively unknown, cultural attractions if you travel a short distance by train from Narita. The one I'd recommend is to get up fairly early and visit the well-designed National Museum of Japanese History -- go to the Keisei line station and ride a limited express to Sakura, which is about 15 minutes. The museum is about a 15 minute walk from Keisei Sakura station, and the way is signposted in English pretty well. Admission is about Y500 and they will give you a headset that explains the exhibits in English.

You could take a JR train from Narita to Chiba, the nearest city, about 30 minutes away and walk around there, but there isn't that much to see, although there is a monorail system you could ride to get a view of the town. You could do that in the evening, as the last train back to Narita is probably around midnight (check when you get to Chiba station if you can figure out how, otherwise be conservative and be back at the station by 11pm).

Edited to note: The museum is generally closed on Mondays.

RichardinSF: Thanks for the info.. I've been scouring FT for threads regarding Narita Layovers, but they all seem to reference this page that's been now taken down. Hotel suggestions? I've read some people stayed at the ANA hotel, anything cheap ($50-100) and convienient (close to access to NRT and Narita City) would be appreciated.

Rather than posting a separate thread, I was wondering if someone here could recommend a KIX airport hotel. My partner has a 09:50 departure and has not travelled much alone, so would rather stay at or near the airport. We will be in Kyoto the day before (I'm going to Tokyo after that).

Any recommendations?

RichardinSF: Thanks for the info.. I've been scouring FT for threads regarding Narita Layovers, but they all seem to reference this page that's been now taken down. Hotel suggestions? I've read some people stayed at the ANA hotel, anything cheap ($50-100) and convienient (close to access to NRT and Narita City) would be appreciated.

Never stayed in the town. Apparently there is one place on the airport grounds called the "Narita Guest House" that is to be avoided. The consensus is that the Hilton might be the best place in town, but it's pricey for the location so best if you have HHonors points. Newman's page also said that if you arrive without a booking the JNTO counter at Narita sometimes has inexpensive deals in "business hotels" (read: tiny room, no real service, but clean and cheap). However, this counter isn't open long hours.

Most Narita hotels apparently have a shuttle to/from the airport, so ask about that. Also the Narita Express train passes a large mall run by Aeon outside of town that might be interesting to wander through, but I don't know anything about it.

Narita airport itself has a web page in English, maybe that would have some leads.

I am sorry Mike Newman (who has said he works for the U.S. government at the social security office in Saipan) feels obliged to take his page down since he wasn't the only one contributing to it -- for example, some of my suggestions were there. Unfortunately, few of the people needing the info on his page were "voluntary" tourists in the normal sense so pulling the page won't make much of a dent on tourism in Japan, which seems to be his desire.

Unfortunately, the Narita stopover site (Mike Newman's Narita Stopover Page) is now offline.

Here's a cached copy from the web archive (http://web.archive.org/web/20030810225352/http://net.saipan.com/personal/mike_newman/narita/narita.html)

Rather than posting a separate thread, I was wondering if someone here could recommend a KIX airport hotel. My partner has a 09:50 departure and has not travelled much alone, so would rather stay at or near the airport. We will be in Kyoto the day before (I'm going to Tokyo after that).

Any recommendations?

My office usually puts up people with early flights in the Nikko. Haven't stayed there myself, but haven't heard any complaints either. Although not actually an airport hotel, the Hyatt Regency is close to the airport (it's used by lots of air crews). I have stayed there and found it to be very nice.

My office usually puts up people with early flights in the Nikko. Haven't stayed there myself, but haven't heard any complaints either. Although not actually an airport hotel, the Hyatt Regency is close to the airport (it's used by lots of air crews). I have stayed there and found it to be very nice.

Thanks mcg1000 ^

Japanese long distance trains are more comfortable than planes, and their schedules are totally reliable. You don't need to get to the train stations hours ahead of time, you don't need to turn off your electronics, you can go to the toilet any time you want, and there are plenty of places to buy good food of your choice (if all else fails, the sandwiches sold at train stations, and on the train, are filling enough). While the new Haneda Airport is really nice, it can be a pain getting from there to Narita.

If you do fly to Haneda, the new terminal is really nice -- I'd say nicer than Narita. The observation deck up topside is great. The monorail is fun to ride, but you'll have to transfer at least twice after that to get to Narita. Your best bet after the monorail (partly owned by JR, but your Rail Pass is not good on it) would be to take the Yamanote Line train to Ueno, then walk the couple blocks to the Keisei station, and take their express train to Narita Airport. You could also splurge on the Keisei Skyliner, which has excellent seats, takes 15 minutes less, and costs about double.

There are some direct Haneda to Narita trains, but these are ordinary rail/subway trains, and the trip can seem to take forever. If you don't want to wait for a through train, you can take a train to Keisei-Takasago, and then transfer to a Narita bound Keisei train.

Busses are too cramped for me, and can also seem like they take forever -- traffic jams can be monumental in Tokyo.

The bottom line is that the Haruka & Shinkansen alternative is really the most comfortable. If you need to spend the night, Kyoto is probably your best bet. I'd take the Haruka all the way, rather than bothering to change to the Shinkansen at Shin-Osaka.

For railfans, Kyoto is great because of the excellent Umekoji Steam Locomotive Preservation Hall. It's in a roundhouse, just west of Kyoto, on the north side of the tracks. There are a couple dozen pieces of equipment. You can make a long walk to get to it, or take a short bus ride. The new Kyoto Station is excellent, too. Be sure to take the escalators all the way to the roof.

Your best bet after the monorail (partly owned by JR, but your Rail Pass is not good on it) would be to take the Yamanote Line train to Ueno, then walk the couple blocks to the Keisei station, and take their express train to Narita Airport. You could also splurge on the Keisei Skyliner, which has excellent seats, takes 15 minutes less, and costs about double.


Great information with one small exception: By far the best transfer point for the Keisei line is at Nippori station, a few minutes past Ueno, where you can change directly from the Yamanote line to the Keisei via an overhead connector bridge, although unfortunately you do have one staircase up from the Yamanote line without an escalator.

All Keisei express trains as well as all Skyliners stop at Nippori.

I layover at Narita 3-4 times a year from 8 am to 5 pm. I always take the Narita Express into Tokyo for lunch with a freind. I'd certainly consider this via the NEX or Skyliner before I booked a hotel in Narita. It's only an hour for the airport and the trains are like clockwork.

What are your arrival and departure times from Narita?

I re-read and figured your times. You'd need to depart Tokyo by Noon to make you 3pm flight.

You'd still be able to do the Tsukiji Fish market and poke around the Imperial Palace/Ginza in the AM if you wanted to get in from NRT post-arrival. Remember that sleep is highly over-rated the night before you want to sleep on a Transpac.

Good luck.

Scho

Great information with one small exception: By far the best transfer point for the Keisei line is at Nippori station.

Nippori is indeed great, only if you have experience travelling in Japan, and with that station in particular. However, my advice was aimed at someone who was new to Japan. Transfering at Ueno involves more walking, but less stair climbing and potential dead-ends. In other words, it is simple and easy. Transferring at Nippori isn't as easy as just walking across a platform -- you have a lot of stair climbing to do, both up one set, and then down another, and this isn't easy with luggage, or during rush hour.

The Yamanote & Keihin Tohoku Line platforms at Nippori have several staircases, and choosing the right one isn't easy, and there is no way to avoid climbing up one of them. That is, unless you know to take the one at the far north end. The stairs at the far south end will just dump you out into the street, and then you have to walk all the way back, the long way, to the Keisei Station. Another set of stairs is marked "No access to Skyliner."

Even if you take the correct set of stairs at the north end, there is still one way to go that can trip you up. If you don't immediately exit at the top of the stairs, but follow the signs to the Keisei Line, you will end up at joint ticket barriers that require you to have a through ticket, or commuter pass -- in other words, you need a single ticket to exit JR AND enter Keisei. I doubt that a first-time visitor would be able to do this correctly, and would then have to walk back to the JR exit, having experienced some frustration, especially with a lot of luggage, and most especially during rush hour.

If you do take the correct JR exit, and walk around to the Keisei faregates, and then back down to the Keisei platform, you still have to know where to stand for the specific Skyliner doors. Not all doors on the Skyliner open at Nippori. That's because station personnel will be there to check your extra fare ticket before you are allowed to get on the train, and it takes too many people to have someone checking at every door.

However, if you are just taking the regular Narita express train, you can get on any of the 8 cars, and they don't check tickets. But, with the regular express train, there isn't anywhere to put a lot of luggage, there are no reserved seats, and it can be miserable during rush hour.

There's more. If you want to buy an advance Skyliner ticket, you need to specify that you'll be entering the system at Nippori, and not Ueno. While the price is the same, the electronic faregate won't let you enter Nippori with a Ueno ticket. Further, if you wait until right before the train comes, to buy the ticket, that train might be sold out.

The good news is that advance Skyliner tickets can now be bought from new vending machines at Ueno & Nippori stations.

Wow, what an essay, but I still tend to disagree. There are escalators at the Keisei side and I find the connection posted legibly in English characters at JR. And last time, coming into Tokyo, I arrived at that ticket barrier and there was a guy there at a ticket window to take our Keisei tickets and sell us a JR Yamanote line ticket with no problem. However, it might be harder leaving Tokyo.

If your ticket doesn't work in Japan, whether it's the right amount or not, there is inevitably some nearby human employee to show it to who will make things right.

You'd still be able to do the Tsukiji Fish market and poke around the Imperial Palace/Ginza in the AM if you wanted to get in from NRT post-arrival. Remember that sleep is highly over-rated the night before you want to sleep on a Transpac.
Scho

Wow, lots of great information here. So, if i do want to go without sleeping the night before, what's there to do? (I'm not much of a clubber/drinker) Or better question, where would I put my luggage? I guess I could check my bags through to the US and just have a small bag with me.. Any suggestions for cheap hotels in Tokyo? I'd really like to get to see the Tsukiji market, and I figure if I'm up all night, I could go to Tsukiji early morning and then head to NRT afterwards... my departing flight isn't until early afternoon..